Mopeds and Squirrels, Thank you Merle
by Haitus80
Summary: (AU no ZA written for the lovely Vickih for her Birthday.) High school sucks and so does Merle's advice about girls. Daryl is awkward. Carol talks too much. Just something I threw together in a few hours for a great friend. (Caryl) Cause that's how I roll...


**So today is Vickih's Birthday and this is my present to her since I'm poor and can't buy her grand gifts and have them sent to Alaska. This is a prompt. She wanted sweet and I'm not sure if I'm very good at sweet but I tried. Hope you enjoy, Vickih! Much love to you and thanks to the rest of you for giving it a glance! **

High school sucked. That was Daryl's assessment anyway. The teachers sucked. The jocks sucked. The cheerleaders sucked. The homework sucked. Even the food sucked and that was saying something because Daryl had to eat Merle's cooking and Merle couldn't cook for shit.

Today had sucked more than usual. He had slammed his hand in his own locker like a dumb ass. He had tripped over his own feet in the hall and damn near went sprawling. He dropped his bag in a puddle. He had a hole in the crotch of his too worn pants. Today couldn't get any damn worse.

"Hi!"

He glanced up and groaned. Had he seriously just thought that today couldn't have gotten any worse? He didn't know why he felt like that because honestly, the girl standing in front of him now was the only good thing about this whole place, but every time she tried to talk to him his palms got sweaty and he stuttered like a goddamn dork. She had to assume he was one of the "special" kids by now.

"Hey," he muttered, stepping around her.

She fell into step beside him, her smile genuine, auburn ponytail swinging from side to side as she clutched her books to her chest. "So, Andrea is out sick today and I know that we're suppose to pair off to study for the History test on Friday. Want to be my partner?"

He swallowed hard. He had started going to school here only two months ago and had noticed her out of the crowd of faces right away. He was quiet, he was awkward and it wasn't easy for him to make friends but her locker had been right next to his and starting that very first day she had started talking his ear off after every class. She wasn't shy or awkward. She had a lot of friends but still chose to spend these brief moments between classes talking to him. He usually just grunted in response but she didn't seem to care. "I'm failin' History," was his reply. He didn't think he could sit there with her for forty five minutes without doing something incredibly stupid.

She stopped walking, grabbing his arm to stop him too. When he looked down at her those blue eyes instantly made him suspicious. There was a mischievous glint to them that had him shifting on his feet. "You are a peculiar boy, do you know that?"

He narrowed his eyes, used to being ridiculed but not from her. She'd always been nice to him, which was probably why he was so afraid of doing something stupid in front of her. He didn't know what to say and everything that came to mind was a bit harsh and he still wasn't one hundred percent sure that she was meaning to offend him.

"You like me, I can tell, but you never talk to me. I've spent the last two months telling you my whole life story so you would loosen up and finally decide that you should ask me out and here we stand, never having gone on the first date," she smiled.

He thought maybe he was having a heart attack, or maybe a stroke. He wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that he hadn't expected all of that. Not at all. And it was true. He liked her a lot and as a rule, he didn't like anyone. Mostly because people didn't like him but that wasn't the point. The point was, he did like her and the thought of going out with her had his mouth going dry.

She sighed heavily. "Okay, fine. Maybe I read you wrong and you don't like me at all. Will you still be my partner today?"

He nodded. Of course he nodded because he was too stunned to really do anything but nod. Why the hell would a girl as outgoing and good looking as her be interested in a fucking introvert like himself? Was she playing with him? Was it one of those cosmic jokes that he had grown used to? No, he decided as she sat down next to him with her book. She wasn't like that.

_**~H~**_

_**Friday... three days later **_

She sat down across from him at lunch, her eyes stormy and her mouth set in a grim line. He looked up, studied her for a few seconds and then looked back down at his tray. "Have you heard?" She asked hotly.

Daryl glanced up again, one eyebrow raised. "If you ain't told me then I probably ain't heard it."

She reached over and stole three fires off his plate even though she had her own and bit into them angrily. "Shane Walsh is going around telling the whole school that I made out with him behind the bleachers. And Rick Grimes is backing up his story. And I'll have you know that I haven't made out with anyone in my life."

He chewed thoughtfully. He assumed that a girl like her probably kissed a whole lot of boys. It's what they did. "So you didn't do it?" He asked. He had given up and actually started talking to her after she had told him that she thought he was peculiar.

She glared at him. "Of course not. He's a big stinking ape is what he is. He asked me out, I turned him down and now the whole school thinks he made it to second base with me."

"That sucks," he muttered, not knowing what else to say. "Why didn't you just go out with him?"

She made a face and looked over his shoulder. "No way. Besides, I've had my eye on someone else for a while and Shane Walsh wouldn't work as a stand in. He's an egocentric ass and I've heard he's all hands and he slobbers when he makes out. No thank you."

He picked at his sandwich, trying not to feel too sorry for himself after hearing about her having her eye on a particular guy. Not that he thought he was going to get a chance with her, since he just now was able to even talk to her, but he still didn't want to hear about it.

"You should come over tonight. My parents are leaving for the weekend. I could cook you dinner and maybe we could watch a movie or something. I mean, since I'm making progress. You actually speak to me now. I might as well move on to faze two." Her sour look transformed into a huge grin.

He felt his face flame and he ducked his head, taking a bite of the dry sandwich to buy himself a little bit of time before he said something completely idiotic. Why the hell was talking to people so goddamn hard? He swallowed and then took a drink while she drummed her nails on the table.

"Well?" She raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him.

He shrugged. "I thought you had your eye on somebody? Don't make much sense to try to get me to come hang out. Your guy might get the wrong idea."

She sighed heavily and shook her head. "I can't figure you out, Daryl Dixon."

"I ain't too complex," he said taking another bite.

"You're absolutely beautiful, you're sweet and shy and behind your back we all talk about how nice your butt is and yet, you are completely oblivious to all of it. I want you to come over so I can do something nice for you because I have a huge crush on you and you're the first boy that I ever had to spell that out for. Good grief! I never thought that I would have to put in so much effort just to get a boy to notice me. It's almost offensive only, it doesn't seem like you blow me off out of meanness."

He swallowed the bite without chewing it thoroughly and of course it stuck in his throat. He grabbed his bottle and chugged as much water as he could as his mind spun and his face flushed. What in the hell was this girl trying to do to him?

The bell rang and she stood up, reaching into her back and pulling out a folded piece of paper, sliding it towards him. "See you later, Daryl," she said, finally, probably for the first time in her whole life, she looked sheepish.

He opened up the paper and saw her address written in cheery bubbly handwriting and her phone number underneath. Then in the corner the word "smile" was written. His heart was thumping painfully hard in his chest. In all of his sixteen years on earth he had never met anyone like this girl. Ever. Probably because there wasn't anyone else out there like her. More than one of her would be too much for the world to deal with.

_**~H~**_

_**Friday... After School...**_

Are you wearing cologne?" Merle asked.

Daryl scoffed. "Course not."

"Why'd you take a shower?"

Daryl rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. "Cause not everybody wants to be a big smelly bastard like you."

"Fair enough," Merle grinned and slapped him hard on the back. "Why you wearin' your good pants?"

"Why the hell do you gotta ask so many stupid questions?" Daryl asked, popping the top on a can of Coke and taking a few long gulps.

"What the hell we doin' for food tonight? I'm goddamn starved," Merle said as he stretched and rubbed his stomach.

Daryl shifted from one foot to the next. "I'm leavin'."

Merle looked up sharply, his eyes taking Daryl in in one long sweep. "Leavin'? You never leave unless you're headin' off on a hunt or goin' to school. School's over and you wouldn't be smellin' so pretty if you was goin' on a hunt."

"I'm just gonna go hang out with a friend alright?"

"You don't get all dolled up for a friend asshole. And you ain't even got a friend. You got a date or somethin'? Hot damn!" Merle barked, slapping his knee. "Bout damn time you decided to start charmin' yourself into a girl's pants. What's her name? What's she look like? Not that it matters. We all like ridin' a moped every now and then," he laughed at his own joke.

"Moped? What the hell are you talkin' about?" Daryl asked, trying to get the subject off of Carol. Usually Merle was easily distracted.

"You know. You can ride a moped all day long and it's fun, but if your friends catch you on it you know they're gonna make fun of ya. Fuckin' an ugly girl is like ridin' a moped. So long as nobody knows about it, it's still just fun as ridin' anything else."

"Jesus Christ, Merle. What the hell's wrong with you?" He asked. He was nervous enough. He didn't need Merle trying to help. He had finally gotten a little courage and slipped his own phone number into her hand before he hauled ass to his truck after school today, so when the phone started ringing he made a dive for it but Merle caught him by the belt and tossed him back, picking up the phone himself. Daryl could only pray that it wasn't Carol.

"Dixon residence," Merle answered, wagging his eyebrows at Daryl.

"Oh God," Daryl muttered, lunging for the phone but only managing to hit the solid wall of Merle's back as he turned away from him.

"Oh yeah, he's here. Who's this?" He glanced over his shoulder and took the phone away from his mouth. "She sounds hot," Merle winked. "Well ain't that just the cutest thing. Y'all have names that rhyme."

"Give me the goddamn phone Merle!" Daryl growled, reaching again. Sometimes he hated his brother.

"I'll be sure to tell him, sweetheart, and don't let him try to leave early either. He ain't got a curfew. Hell, keep him all night if he can last that long."

Daryl stopped fighting for the phone and flounced down into the chair, his face flaming. Merle hung up and smiled. Daryl scowled. "I hate you, you know that?"

"Why? Cause I'm givin' you a free pass? Was you gonna try to scurry out on that little girl when you got nervous? Come on little brother. Deep down, I know you have it in you. You're a Dixon and us Dixons are squirrels.

"Squirrels?" Daryl scowled even deeper.

"'Course, baby boy. We're all just out to get a nut."

Daryl groaned and wondered if she would be too mad at him if he canceled.

_**~H~**_

_**Friday Night... Carol's house...**_

Daryl stood there on the porch for a few long moments, trying to forget all the "pointers" that Merle tried to give him. He'd gone as far as to run outside before Daryl pulled away and tossed a handful of condoms into the open window of the truck. Sometimes Daryl wondered if Merle was right in the head. It was just two people that were going to eat food and then watch a damn movie. He wasn't here to get into her pants. Hell, despite Merle's never ending "pointers" he didn't have the slightest idea how to even go about getting into a girls pants to begin with.

With a heavy sigh and a thrumming heart he knocked on the door. She lived in a much nicer house than him and Merle. It was a big two story. Fancy paved driveway. Big bay windows. Landscaping. He already felt like he was in way over his head here.

When she opened the door her smile was wide. "You actually came!" She exclaimed and then grabbed him by the hand and pulled him inside, kicking the door shut behind her. "I wasn't sure if you would. You're brother is really something else. Not like you at all. I could tell just by talking to him on the phone. Not that you aren't something else. You're just something else in a different way. Anyway, are you hungry?" She rambled as he stared at her with wide eyes. She seemed as nervous as him but instead of closing herself off like he did she seemed to ramble. Why the hell would she be nervous? This was her idea.

"Yeah, he's somethin' I guess," he said in a low voice. He couldn't help but let his gaze sweep over her. She was wearing pajamas, which surprised him. And a clingy tank top, that distracted the hell out of him. He wasn't Merle but he wasn't blind either.

"I made spaghetti," she said, still holding on to his hand as she led him through a large living room and then a spacious kitchen that had a rustic look that he instantly liked. It almost reminded him of the woods and the woods calmed him. Then he looked down, noticing how her fluffy pajama pants clung to her ass and then he started getting nervous again. She let go of his hand and motioned for him to sit down at the bar.

"Smells good. Usually all my brother fixes is deer steak and he ain't very good at it."

She piled a plate high and glanced over her shoulder. "Deer? I've never had deer."

"Really?" He asked, surprised.

She sat a plate down in front of him and then sat down next to him on the other stool. "Really. Where do you buy deer steaks? Maybe I could fix them better than your brother."

He shook his head because his mouth was full and it was all he could do not to moan around the bite. The girl had skill in the kitchen. "You don't buy it. Well, I suppose you could if you knew somebody that hunted but usually you just go kill them and then clean them and then freeze the meat."

Her eyes were wide and he noticed that she had a bit of sauce on the corner of her mouth and then all he could focus on was her mouth but he wasn't as nervous as he had been before. He has the overwhelming urge to wipe it away but he just kept eating instead. "You hunt? That's amazing."

He tried to fight the blush away but he felt it creep over his cheeks anyway.

"Can you take me some time?" She asked.

He smiled because he couldn't picture her in the woods at all. "You'd end up talkin' too much and scare everything away."

She frowned. "I don't talk to much. Do you really think I talk to much?"

He shook his head and felt his smile widen because truthfully, she did talk to much, but he'd never tell her that. He looked at her and realized that she was staring at him.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before," she said quietly. "You should smile more often."

He looked back down at his plate and didn't say anything else for a long time. Once his plate was clean she slid off the stool and took their dishes to the sink. She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest and met his eyes.

"So, if I promise not to talk too much, which I don't, then would you take me with you?"

He nodded. "I guess but do you really think you could kill somethin'?"

She shook her head. "Probably not, but I want to see you in your element. You get to see me in mine." She grinned, grabbed his hand, nearly pulling him off the stool, and led him back to the living room.

He sat down on the couch, his nerves kicking up as she bent over to put in whatever movie he was going to have to sit through. He wished he had any amount of game at all. Merle wasn't so awkward with women. He was actually too good with women. He seemed to be bringing a new one home every week. But Daryl had no idea how to really talk to people. He'd always just kept to himself. And it had always been alright but Carol wasn't having any of it. She demanded his attention and forced him into situations like this. He cleared his throat. "What are we watchin'?" He asked, sure that she'd force him to watch some girly flick that he would hate.

She turned with a grin and then sat down next to him, so close that her arm was pressed against his arm. She drew her legs up, folding them under her while she pushed the play button on the remote. She elbowed him lightly. "Turn that lamp off, would ya?"

He reached over, turned off the lamp and then blinked as the room grew very dark. The screen was dark too and the lack of light seemed to heighten his other senses. Like now he could smell her and he could hear her slow even breaths.

"Rambo," she said as the screen lit up.

He turned his head, looking at her like she was crazy. "Rambo?"

"It's one of my favorite movies. What were you expecting?" She grinned and then seemed to move a little closer, forcing him to raise his arm and place it on the back of the couch.

"Not Rambo," he said, realizing that he was okay with her proximity now. It just took some getting used to.

"Well, I'm sure there's tons of things that you don't know about me," she said with a smile, her eyes going back to the screen.

"Like what?" He asked.

"Like how I'm really afraid of being home alone at night and that's one of the reasons I wanted you to come over so bad."

He snorted. "So I'm just here so you don't have to be alone?" He didn't think that was the only reason she wanted him here and the more time he spent with her the more comfortable he felt with her. It wasn't that bad.

"I was also hoping that I could impress you with my cooking and then you would ask me out on a real date some time. And I had a feeling you would appreciate my taste in movies."

"I'm kind of impressed with your taste in movies. And you're a good cook." There, that wasn't so bad. He could talk to this girl.

"Flattery will get you anywhere, Dixon," she grinned but she didn't look at him. She moved over a little, settling further into his side and causing his heart to beat a little faster but not in a bad way.

"So, you wanna go huntin' tomorrow?" He asked after while.

She shrugged. "If you don't think my big mouth will chase all the animals away."

"I guess I'll risk it," he said, leaning his head against the back of the couch.

She paused the movie and then sat up on her knees facing him. "You thirsty?"

He nodded. "Sure."

She glanced towards the dark kitchen and then met his eyes. "Well, come with me then."

He smiled. "You afraid of the dark too?"

She bit her lip and for some reason that seemed like the most erotic thing in the world. "I'm also afraid of closed in spaces and I'm afraid of roaches." She stood up then, reaching for his hand. He let her take it, like he had let her take a bunch of times already, and pull him up from the couch.

"Your parents go out a lot?" He asked, just to break the awkward silence while she hurriedly pulled him towards the fridge.

She nodded. "Yeah. Usually Andrea spends the night or I spend the night with her but she's sick and really, I wanted to ask you the other day if you wanted to come over but I chickened out. You aren't the most approachable guy in the world," she said, handing him a bottle of some kind of fancy water.

"I guess," he said.

She opened the cabinet and sighed. "Why do they always have to put them all the way up there?" Before he could ask her what she was doing she hopped up onto the counter and reached for the glasses on the top shelf.

He moved a little closer, just in case she toppled backwards but he didn't have anything to worry about. She sat the glasses down and then turned to hop down, only, it didn't work out that way since he had been standing so close to the counter. He tried to move back but it was too late. All of a sudden he was standing there between her knees, and she was unable to hop down because he was in her way.

"Sorry," he muttered, his voice low, "I thought you were gonna fall so I was... uh..." he trailed off, unable to remember what it was he was going to say because suddenly her hands were on his shoulders and she was staring at him with eyes as wide as saucers. He still hadn't stepped away from her. As a matter of fact, somehow his hands were resting on her upper thighs and he had no idea how they had gotten there. His eyes slid down to her mouth. She had boldly told him that she had been pining after him, though he still had trouble believing it. Did she want him to kiss her? Because he really fucking wanted to kiss her. She was the whole package. She was hot, she was nice, she wanted to go hunting and she liked Rambo. So he should definitely kiss her. Right? Because when would he find himself in another position like this where he was actually willing to say fuck it and go for it?

He stopped asking himself stupid questions and leaned in further but paused, just to gauge her reaction because the last thing he wanted to do was kiss some girl that didn't want to be kissed. She seemed like she expected it now so he held his breath and went for it...

It was probably lame by anyone elses standards. Most guys his age had kissed plenty of chicks so it wasn't really a very big deal. Daryl didn't feel that way. This was actually a huge fucking deal because when his lips met hers his heart just about jumped right out of his chest and he felt like he had last year when Merle had dared him to chug four beers. He felt drunk. And it wasn't really much. It was his lips pressed against her lips and neither one of them were really moving at all. When he tried to pull away, however, she followed him, unwilling to let it end yet. This boosted his confidence so his lips parted and actually moved over hers.

That was when her arms went around his neck and she scooted a little closer. His brother was right. This was fucking great. All those tips tumbled through his head just then and he took another chance and traced her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue and this actually got a sound out of her, which shocked the total fuck out of him. He thought maybe he was actually good at this whole thing, which was just crazy. But she wasn't letting him go anywhere and he didn't even want to. Maybe he wasn't the greatest conversationalist but he could get used to this kissing stuff.

When he finally pulled away she grinned at him. "I knew it."

He narrowed his eyes, feeling his face growing red now that she was looking at him. "Knew what?"

"I knew you'd be really good at that," she said right before she grabbed the sides of his face and pulled him in for more.

Eventually they made it back to the living room but they didn't really watch anymore of the movie. He hadn't expected to watch anymore though. He wasn't too handsy because he remembered her saying something about Shane Walsh being all hands so he made sure he didn't do any groping. He was also happy to learn that he wasn't slobbering either, even when it progressed and he actually swept his tongue into her mouth. When they finally did come up for air she looked a little dazed.

"Do you think your brother meant it when he said you could spend the night?" She asked breathlessly.

He felt his eyes grow wide. He heard her perfectly but the only thing he could say was, "What?"

She shook her head, smiling. "I don't mean I want you to get me naked. I just thought, since it's already late and I don't like being here alone that maybe you could-"

"Oh. Yeah. I can do that," he nodded, almost glad that she didn't want him to get her naked. Not that he would have minded seeing her naked but that was a bit much. Regardless of what Merle said, Daryl wasn't a squirrel. He was pretty sure that if she tried to take his clothes off he'd bolt right out the door. This was as close as another human being had ever gotten to him. He needed to ease into physical situations. Not dive head first into bed with this girl.

She grinned and then crawled off of him. "Okay. I'll bring you some stuff. I want to get out there early in the morning."

"Get out where?" He asked, watching her as she headed for the stairs.

"The woods, remember?"

He rolled his eyes. Right. He was suppose to show her how to hunt. He knew it wasn't going to work but the prospect of spending more time with her had him looking forward to tomorrow. Hell, even Monday wasn't something he was dreading anymore. Maybe school wasn't going to suck so bad now.

When she came back down she was actually acting as shy as him, which made little sense considering how pushy she always was. Her face was still flushed and her eyes were bright when she handed him a pillow and blanket.

"Thanks," he said, since she was still standing there.

She smiled. "I'll see you in the morning, Daryl."

He waited until she was up the stairs before he turned off the lamp. He laid there for a minute and then chuckled quietly. He had been so damn nervous about coming here and now here he was sleeping over. Merle would hound him for ever over this but he didn't care. He felt pretty damn good about himself and feeling like that was worth getting shit from his brother. Hell, Merle would have hounded him if he had came home early anyway. At least this way Merle could hold tight to the possibility that Daryl was finally living up to his reputation. As long as he didn't give Carol any hell about it he didn't mind.

He fell asleep surprisingly fast considering everything. Or maybe he was just eager to see how tomorrow would turn out. It didn't matter because for the first time in his life, he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

**I struggled with the ending lol. Endings are always super hard for me but hopefully it was an okay read. =)**


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